BEA Meets Clearfield in Battle of Unbeatens; State College, Bellefonte Look to Rebound

And then there was one.

The State College Little Lions left the ranks of the unbeatens when they lost on Oct. 6 to high-flying Harrisburg, 32-17, in a Mid Penn Conference game in Harrisburg.

That leaves just Bald Eagle Area as the lone Centre County high school team with a perfect 7-0 record, after the Eagles played another complete game in their 30-7 win over Huntingdon.

In Spring Mills on Oct. 5, Penns Valley bolted out to a big early lead and then was able to hold on against Bellefonte, 42-27, for its fourth win of the year against three losses.

Not to be left out, the Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties broke into the winning column for the first time this season with a 49-0 victory against an overmatched team from Pittsburgh’s Vincentian Academy.

This week, there will be a Mountain League battle for first place and more as all five teams will be facing conference opponents.

CLEARFIELD (7-0) AT BALD EAGLE AREA (7-0)
Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

Not much can be said that would add to the importance of this game between Mountain League leaders Clearfield and Bald Eagle Area.

Both teams have yet to lose, and the winner will have a major inroad to the 2018 league championship with a one-game lead and just two games left to play.

And both of these teams have arrived at this point playing complete football. They both can score almost at will, and both play ferocious defense.

Clearfield has yet to be held to under 28 points, and that was in its opening-night 28-3 win over DuBois. Since then, the Bison are averaging over 45 points per game and have wins over Bellefonte, 49-21, Central, 42-14, Huntingdon, 42-21, Central Mountain, 49-7, Penns Valley, 56-42, and Tyrone, 35-7.

In the Tyrone game Oct. 5, the Bison spotted Tyrone a first-quarter touchdown and then ran off 35 unanswered points to take home the win.

Quarterback Isaac Rumery, who announced that he will walk on at Penn State next year, again was the catalyst for the Clearfield offense. He completed 13 of 18 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 10 times for 40 yards, and it was his 23-yard touchdown pass to Barrett Kline just before halftime that change the complexion of the game.

Rumery also broke the career passing record at the school with a total of 6,102 yards, breaking the old record of 6,088 yards that was set in 1994.

BEA will counter with a high-performing quarterback of its own in Jaden Jones. Jones has already thrown for 1,682 yards in seven games and an impressive 20 touchdowns.

But in the Eagles’ latest win, 30-7 over Huntingdon on Oct. 5, it was the running game and defense that lit the way. The Eagles ran for 163 yards and two touchdowns for the night, and they broke open the game when Nick Turner stripped Bearcat quarterback Roger Kocik and ran 56 yards for a touchdown that put the Eagles ahead 23-7 in the second quarter.

BEA held Huntingdon to just 199 yards of offense and just 30 yards passing.

So something will have to give. In a very similar situation two weeks ago, Bellefonte took on Clearfield when both were unbeaten, and Clearfield broke ahead by 21 points early and coasted in for the win.

That was in Clearfield, and the Eagles will be well aware that getting off to a good start at home against the Bison will be a must. Given that, this one could go down to the final possessions.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

STATE COLLEGE (6-1) AT CENTRAL DAUPHIN (5-2)
Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

For the second year running, Harrisburg got the best of State College in an important Mid Penn Colonial matchup. This year the final was 32-17 after the Cougars bolted out to a 24-3 halftime lead and then held off the Little Lions down the stretch for their seventh win without a loss.

Harrisburg used two long touchdowns to move ahead 12-3 in the second quarter and then really put the pressure on when Elijah Scott scored on a 44-yard pick-6 to make it 18-3.

Another Kane Everson touchdown pass — his second of the game — just before halftime sent the Cougars into the locker room with a comfortable lead.

State College kept at it, though, and actually drew to within 24-17 after two Tommy Friberg touchdown passes to Keaton Ellis. But a late Harrisburg drive closed out the game and put the Cougars all alone in first place.

State College will now have a short week to regroup for a visit from another Mid Penn power on Friday, Oct. 12, at Memorial Stadium — 5-2 Central Dauphin.

The Rams have two losses coming into the game, including a 20-5 loss to Harrisburg two weeks ago, but CD got it all together last week against Altoona.

The Rams opened the game with 28 straight points, gave up an 80-yard touchdown run, and then ran off another 21 in a 49-7 win.

CD piled up 470 yards of offense, including 260 yards and two touchdowns passing. Starting quarterback Noah Hoffman was 13 of 17 for 190 yards and both touchdowns while running back Adam Burkhardt (70 yards) led a 210-yard, four-touchdown running game.

For the season, Central Dauphin has been averaging 320 yards per game, almost evenly divided between the pass and run. The Rams also play aggressive defense, especially against the run, and have seven sacks and 11 interceptions. One of those interceptions was a 35-yard pick-6 by Malachi Bowman against Altoona.

Before the emergence of Harrisburg, this game usually went far in determining the eventual champion of the conference. Now, the winner will still be in striking distance, and the loser will likely be out of the running.

It will be important for the Little Lions to shake off last week and avoid another slow start.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

BISHOP CARROLL (2-5) AT PENNS VALLEY (4-3)
Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

Penns Valley quarterback Aaron Tobias picked a very good night to have a career game.

The junior completed 19 of 27 passes for 380 yards and four touchdowns against Bellefonte on Oct. 5 and ran for 63 yards and another two scores in the Rams’ 42-27 win.

Both teams loaded it up on offense in the first half with PV going into the locker room with a 35-27 lead, but the Rams scored the only second-half touchdown to seal the win and move to 4-3 for the season. That final touchdown — a 20-yard pass from Tobias to Logan Snyder — put the finishing touches on another explosive night for the Rams.

And now, suddenly, the schedule will begin to shift in Penns Valley’s favor. Two of its final three games are at home — this week against Bishop Carroll and Oct. 19 against Tyrone — with the season’s final game at Philipsburg-Osceola on Oct. 26.

Carroll will come in to PV this week with a 2-5 record and coming off a 24-24 loss to Central at home.

The Huskies are all about the run. Of their 235 yards per game on offense, 190 are on the ground. That leaves just 45 passing yards per game on what comes out to be about four completions in seven attempts every night.

But their running game needs to be watched. Jarrett Grove, quarterback Jake Zazvrskey and Trevor Hogue have combined for 1,096 yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns.

Against Central, even when down by two scores, Carroll kept running the ball and twice came to within seven points in the game. The Dragons scored a late touchdown in the fourth quarter to finally put that one away.

The challenge for Carroll will be playing defense against Penns Valley while trying to control the tempo with its running game. If the Huskies can’t do one or the other, it could be a long night for them.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

CENTRAL (3-4) AT BELLEFONTE (5-2) (AT LOCK HAVEN UNIVERSITY)
Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

How much of an effect traveling every week has had on the Bellefonte Raider football team is impossible to determine.

Yet the fact remains that after two consecutive losses, at Clearfield and at Penns Valley, it would be a big plus for the Raiders to come back home to take on 3-4 league rival Central.

Instead, the game will be at Lock Haven University, and Bellefonte will nonetheless have to get things back together against an improving Scarlet Dragon team.

Central got off to a terrible 1-4 start this season with losses to Mountain League powers BEA, Clearfield, Penns Valley and Tyrone, but the Dragons have won their last two against P-O and Bishop Carroll.

In its 24-14 win over Carroll on Oct. 5, Central put up 310 yards of offense that included 225 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Quarterback Noah Muthler accounted for the yards on 15 completions in 23 attempts without an interception. He also helped himself with 31 yards scrambling, but overall the Dragons did not get their running game going with only 70 yards on the night.

Carroll, using the run almost exclusively, did come back to within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but four minutes later Muthler scored from 5 yards out to put the game away.

Against Bellefonte’s high-powered attack — just over 366 yards per game — the Dragons will not be able to crowd the line and stack up the run. Raider quarterback Kyle Myers completes over 60 percent of his passes and has thrown for more than 800 yards this year.

And, the running game averages over 266 yards per game and has scored 19 touchdowns.

Bellefonte’s 42-27 loss at Penns Valley may have raised some eyebrows, but the Rams have been putting up those kinds of numbers every week.

It’s up to Bellefonte now to refocus and take care of the game at hand. The Raiders just can’t do it at home.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

HUNTINGDON (2-5) AT PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (1-6)
Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

Philipsburg-Osceola let out six games worth of pent-up energy against Vincentian Academy on Oct. 5 and romped to its first win of the season, 49-0.

The game was never close as the Mounties used three first-half touchdowns by Landon McDonald to build a 40-0 lead. One of McDonald’s touchdowns was a 35-yard pick-6 that gave P-O a 14-0 lead and essentially foreshadowed what was to come.

McDonald would score twice more before two minutes had elapsed in the second quarter and the rout was on.

Now, after tasting some success, the Mounties will be tested by Huntingdon on Friday, Oct. 12, to see if their apparent improvement is real.

Huntingdon has two wins this season against Mount Union (40-0) and Bishop Carroll (21-14). Otherwise, the Bearcats have been wildly inconsistent. They played Bellefonte tough in a 10-0 loss Aug. 31, then gave up over 30 points each in losses to Penns Valley, Central and BEA.

On Oct. 5 against BEA, a 30-7 loss, Huntingdon was tied 7-7 late in the first quarter, but the Eagles struck with a 29-yard touchdown pass by Jaden Jones and a 55-yard fumble return by Nick Turner to take control of the game.

The BEA defense, tough as usual, allowed Huntingdon just 30 yards passing and intercepted quarterback Michael Hudy twice.

P-O has shown flashes of that kind of defense, and with senior quarterback Budda Slogosky steadily handling the passing game, the Mounties are capable of competing on offense and defense. The keys, as always for P-O, will be to cut down on the mistakes and avoid momentum-changing big plays.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.